


Her Nails Match Her Hair

by Lemniscate35173



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Between Touka and Kaneki can be seen as friendship or romance, F/M, Gen, Kimi is only mentioned in Nishiki's thoughts, Nishiki POV, Whatever you choose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 13:32:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2111766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemniscate35173/pseuds/Lemniscate35173
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Roma offers to take a shift on that day, but Nishiki nearly gives her the scolding of her life, and Touka shuts her down with one (metaphorical) blow. No one else volunteers after that."</p><p>Kaneki's absence as told by rags, coffee and Touka's nails.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Nails Match Her Hair

It is a slow afternoon, and they are just standing around wasting time when Kaneki brings it up. Touka is washing the bar, while Nishiki is wiping down the booths, even though they really don't need to be wiped down. Kaneki is helping Touka, drying off where she has already scrubbed. At times like this, Nishiki doesn't mind nearly as much that Kaneki had cajoled him into working here.

“Touka-chan, you painted your nails.” Kaneki says. Touka stops her scrubbing. Nishiki stops wiping down the booth, and walks over to where Touka is still standing rigidly in place. Kaneki continues, and Nishiki has to wonder if this kid has any survival instinct at all. He ignores the voice in his head that sounds Kimi asking him he had any either.

Nishiki looks down. It appeared that Touka's grip on the rag hadn't hidden the paint that was currently on the tops of her rather short nails.

“It matches your hair.” Kaneki says, and he's right. The polish is the same color as Touka's short locks, a shade somewhere between blue and purple. Touka still isn't giving any sort of reaction, and Nishiki would tease her for it in the future if he wasn't absolutely sure that she could kick his ass all over Tokyo.

“You should do it more often.” Kaneki turns away after that, presumably to start on some coffee for them. Touka is only frozen for a moment longer.

To Nishiki's surprise, a blush spreads across her face. He didn't even know ghouls could blush. Because it's Touka, it's little more than a bit of color in her cheeks, but it's there. He really wishes she couldn't kick his ass all over Tokyo because this was golden.

Kaneki gives a cry of shock as Touka's towel connects with his arm, but doesn't stop walking. “Shut up!” Touka yells. Then her voice turns to a grumble that Nishiki would've had to strain to hear if he were human. “Yoriko did them.”

Kaneki doesn't even ask what the blow was for; Nishiki has got to admit that the kid has adapted to Touka rather well. Nishiki closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of coffee being brewed. It is a rather relaxing sound, he will grudgingly admit.

Kaneki places a cup of coffee in front of him, then puts a similar cup in front of Touka. He then grabs the cleaning rags that have been left forgotten, and disappears into the back.

When he joins them again, he doesn't say anything more on the topic. Their small gathering is broken up by the arrival of a young woman with shopping bags on her arms. Kaneki gets up to serve her, and before long their coffee turns cold as more costumers begin to come in.

The next day Touka isn't wearing nail polish.

* * *

It is another lazy day in the coffee shop. This time, Touka is wiping down the booths while Nishiki is polishing the bar. He refuses to clean it.

They are the only two in the shop, and Nishiki knows that Touka is trying her hardest to ignore that as well. Nishiki finishes the end of the bar, but leaves the cloth out. Touka is attempting to get some sort of spot off of the table.

If Touka was Kimi, or if Nishiki was a nicer person, he would go help her. Touka isn't Kimi, and Nishiki is in no form a nice person, so he waits for the person who isn't there to go help her instead. He doesn't help her anyway.

Touka wins against the spot. She comes to the bar, and they both look up for coffee before they realize there isn't anyone there. Touka taps her nails against the bar, and Nishiki watches for a while before his mind wanders.

A student in a blazer and tie comes in, and they both wait for a breath of a second before Nishiki gets up and takes his order. The place becomes packed, and a teenager points out the two rags at the end of the bar. Touka passes the rags over, and Nishiki makes the teenager wait until an older couple is gone.

Roma offers to take a shift on that day, but Nishiki nearly gives her the scolding of her life, and Touka shuts her down with one (metaphorical) blow. No one else volunteers after that.

Touka's nails match her hair again.

* * *

Nishiki doesn't ask what's going on with Touka. He knows it would end up with his ass kicked all over Tokyo, and nothing else to show for it. Besides, Touka tells enough on her own.

There is a new bunny charm around her cell phone, and her nails match her hair. Except this time, one of the nails is black, and Nishiki wonders if it's an accident that it happens to be her ring finger.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my first work on here. I tried going for some sort of Touka/Kaneki friendship with sort of implied romance through Nishiki's eyes, but I think I didn't do very well with the whole subtly part. C'est la vie. 
> 
> Enjoy the idea I thought up brushing my hair and waited until midnight to write. Now edited by a me that is fully functional.


End file.
